Clean Romances discussion
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~Blog Poll~ Self-Published Authors: Rejects?
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I voted :o)I have read far too many books published by traditional publishers that are absolutely horrendous to assume that they do a better job than an author can.
Good book = publishers will jump at publishing it? No. It's all about money, not quality (raking in the former doesn't automatically rely on the latter being present).
A very dear friend of mine had to find sponsorship to have his book published about 25 years back, due to the high cost of production (huge book, lots of images). It is 'the' book to buy on the subject... absolutely fantastic... but it would never have seen the light of day if he hadn't found the funding for it.
There are reasons for going the self-published route, just as there are reasons for going the traditional route with a big publisher or with a small press. We're all unique and have specific ideas about what we want from writing; for some it makes more sense to do it yourself, for others it doesn't. Horses for courses, and all that.
Well, that's my tuppence ha'penny anyway.
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It is nice to know that there are good writers out there that are not going the traditional route. :) Thanks. :)
I don't assume they've been rejected. Actually, some of my favorite books are self published.
In my home town I know three other published writers--they're all self published, so the first question out of people's mouths here when they find out I have a book being released is if I'm self publishing or not. Joyce's first book was self published, and her writing and editing are excellent, so I try to keep an open mind, but there's a gentleman here in town whose editing is so horrific. I liked his writing voice a lot, but just having one of his kids proof the book before he sent it to the publisher would have made a significant difference in its readability. I'd never make it through without tossing it against the wall in sheer irritation.
On the other hand, I'm reading a book by my publisher that obviously needed more research--nearly anyone from rural Utah who reads it is going to know that she didn't know anything about the town she set it in. Great plot, good characters, irritating inconsistencies with reality that yank me out of the book every few pages. Don't get me wrong, if she had simply added a jewelry store to a town that's patently too small to support one, I could overlook it, it's the accumulation of other stuff that has me putting the story down time and again.
Heather wrote: "In my home town I know three other published writers--they're all self published, so the first question out of people's mouths here when they find out I have a book being released is if I'm self pu..."Heather, it's almost the same situation in the small town where I live (in Australia). The Writers Group started up when the population was 800, it's now 1200. (Surrounding immediate rural area, 2500 to 3000.) Of 11 members, three are professionally published, including myself. Three more are self published. Two of these should be professionally published and aren't. The third has great stories to tell, but doesn't have the grammatical skills to tell them as they deserve. A really nice person, good writer, who really needs the help of a professional editor and can't afford one. I struggle to read the writing even though some of the time it's pure gold. However the gold is tarnished by the grammar, plotting mistakes etc. Very disconcerting. Heart wrenching, even.
And I never set my books in real places, good way to get into trouble! My contemporary takes place in an area I've been familiar with from childhood, but a fictional part of it. And the historical just required a lot of research; even then I'm sure an expert on the times and the geography could pick up some small mistakes.
Gina, you're so right. Publishing is all about selling and making money, more than it ever was in the past. Quality isn't enough. As in the remarks of those innocent of what's involved: "But if it's a good book, why did you have so much trouble getting it printed?" and "What's an e-book?"
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I originally self-published my medieval romance, Loyalty's Web, because New York editors and agents wanted me to add sex scenes, and I wasn't willing to do that. After I self-published, a small publisher found it (long story I won't share here) and republished it, and has since republished my second novel, Illuminations of the Heart. They were LOOKING for romances that didn't have sex scenes, so it was a perfect fit. I absolutely would not add sex scenes, even for a national publisher, and if something ever happened with my current publisher and I couldn't find another willing to take on the kind of sweet romances I write, I would definitely consider self-publishing again. So you have all my support in sticking to your values! You'll never regret doing so.
Good for you for sticking to your principals, Vicki. I went with small presses because they didn't require sex scenes like the big pubs do. My sweet Regency Romances are published by The Wild Rose Press, who gives heat ratings on all the books they publish (which I really appreciate) and my clean fantasy is coming soon from another small press. Maybe the big guys will wise up some day. Until then, we're stuck with small pubs and self-pubbing.
The question I'm asking is: Do you assume self-published authors have been rejected by "real" publishers?
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